2/25/2009

TUTORIAL R06 Make Rabbit balloon

To make normal balloon you will need to use Rokuro. If you want to make heart shape balloon, it is possible in Tokoroten. However for rabbit balloon we will use Mage.
Let's start by making a draft image of our balloon and uploading it as a background texture into Rokuro pro, Mage working area by going menu View > Load backgroound.

Be sure to make it 256x256 px - a square image with a little space left around the actual image to make it easier for us to trace in Rokuro pro.
Then, select Mage tab from the Rokuro pro and start tracing the right part. You don't need to trace both parts, Mage does it for you.

Your trace should look something like that. Remember that square control points are the main control points that will define the shape of your sculptie from afar view in Second life. Position them strategically to the shape defining places like angles, corners, curves etc. Be sure to check your sculptie's shape by frequently checking the afar view in View > Level of detail > Middle.
Be sure you have your center control pointsin the middle of a balloon's body. Start working from them. Your shape will bend around these two center control points.
When you upload your sculptie to Second life, it usually appears turned upside down and is shown from afar view. (Rokuro pro middle view)

In-world you can further edit your sculptie to create it's final look.

in Rokuro pro your sculptie is automatically covered in numbered align texture to help you see where the texture is hugging your sculptie and then paint by numbers in Photoshop or any other graphics software.
So from X0-X3 you have left ear, from X4-XB you have balloon's main body and from XC-XF you have right ear.

Because Rokuro Pro can read PSD format you can edit the texture in photoshop while previewing it in Rokuro Pro on a sculptie. It is very convenient for adjusting the shadows.

When you save your sculptie as TGA file be sure to change it's save size to 128x128 or less. On the other hand, save it's texture in JPEG or PNG format as 256x256px.
Be sure to check "lossless compression" when uploading sculptie texture.

http://rokuro.slmame.com/c7068.html

translated by Dendre Benelli.

TUTORIAL R05 Make Open heart accessory

Let's make some accessory sculptie like an open heart that can be used for necklace or earrings. We will start with MAGE tab in Rokuro pro software.

 

To make our job easier, we first prepare an open heart sketch or sample picture. Be sure to make it a square (256x256) image with a little space left around the object. It will help us comfortably trace it with our control points in Rokuro pro.

To load this sample image as our background go to Rokuro pro menu > View > Load background and select an image you prepared. It will be place into your working area.
To make a heart shape tube we move our control points according to the image below.

Remember that square control points are the main control points that will define the shape of your sculptie from afar view in Second life. Position them strategically to the shape defining places like angles, corners, curves etc. Be sure to check your sculptie's shape by frequently checking the afar view in View > Level of detail > Middle.

If you position your control points in a wrong order it may cause your sculptie to look like it was turned inside out. Be careful to position them in the order them come initially.

Above is the example of disposition of the control points causing your sculptie to misshape.
After you completed your shape and checked its middle view, you can save it in TGA format by going to menu's File > Save.

Now let's make a texture.
When we were making open heart sculptie, we were bending a default shape from top to bottom - vertically. Therefore the texture should also have vertical direction as shown below.

 
There are many tutorials on the web that shows you how to create a metallic looking texture in photoshop. It's pretty easy to make so look it up. Be sure to make a texture with 256x256 px in size.

After you're done upload it into Rokuro pro for preview by going to menu Texture > Load.
Because Rokuro Pro can read PSD format you can edit the texture in photoshop while previewing it in Rokuro Pro on a sculptie. It is very convenient for adjusting the shadows.
Be sure to check your texture on a sculptie with middle view level to see if it still looks ok. When you are satisfied, save both textures (sculptie as TGA file and it's texture as JPG or PNG file) and upload them in-world. Be sure to check "lossless compression" when uploading sculptie texture.
To make your silver open heart look even more realistic apply shiny effect in edit window.

 

http://rokuro.slmame.com/c6979.html

translated by Dendre Benelli.

2/07/2009

TUTORIAL R09 Make Cushion

-How to make a cushion using Rokuro pro-

Rokuro pro has a new shape in it's shape menu called cushion. Let's use it to create a simple cushion shape like the one on the picture below. Go to menu and select SHAPE > CUSHION.

"To make a cushion we will have to work with only front of pillow. Side will be automatically adjusted by Rokuro pro.
Since the shape of a cushion is symmetrical from top to bottom, we are going to make only top part and move control points from 1 to 5 to create a horizontal curve of a pillow ( if you look at it from the front) and 6 to 17 to make a vertical curve. Your top shape will be automatically copied to the bottom next time we choose cushion shape from the menu. "
Ok, first draw a sample of your pillow and use it as a reference background for your future sculpty. ( View > Load background).

Sample image of a pillow is symmetrical from top to bottom and from right to left. That's why all you have to do is to adjust your control points of the top-right corner of the pillow as shown in the image below.

You can use your own image or a photograph of a pillow but make sure it's size more or less matches the size of your rokuro working area. The center of your cushion image must match the center of your working area.

Ok, let's start making our sculpty. First, in Rokuro tab let's position our control points as shown in the image below. Control points 1,3,5,9 and 17 are your important anchors so position them first and then finish your shape with the rest of the points from 1 to 17.

5th control point is your corner point. Position your first 5 control points by dragging them or SHIFT-key. Select them and choose equal intervals from the edit menu.

Do the same action for control points from 6 to 17 and equal your intervals. You will have something like the image below.

Then adjust your control points from 1 to 17 to match your cushion draft underneath.

After you finish, go to your menu and select SHAPE > CUSHION again.

Your cushion will look something like the image below.

Now, let's make some final adjustments for our pillow.
If you look carefully at your sculpty, you will notice the connection part sticking out of your shape in between horizontal cushion corners (red highlight in the image below).

To avoid it, move your control points from 1 to 4 inside of your shape as shown in the image below. Repeat this action for bottom control points. Do not select Shape> cushion function at this point anymore.

You don't have to move them deep inside. Just a little bit is fine. The image shows extreme shift to make it simpler to understand. ^-^
It is important not to move any other control points at this time or your shape will deform. If you move your horizontal control points from 1 to 4 inside the pillow, the horizontal curve will remain connecting your control points from 1 to 3 to 5 into a nice curve. However, if you select shape > cushion once again, it will create a new form of pillow with your horizontal curve reflecting the present position of your horizontal control points. Do it only if you want to re-adjust your shape.

Now let's make texture.
Look into your preview screen to see the numbers corresponding with particular places on your shape. Your cushion texture will have front and back as shown on the image below.

The rest of the texture will be hidden inside the pillow so you don’t have to color it.
The usual texture size is 512x512. However our current shape requires only 256x384. You can make a texture in 256x256 size and then resize it to the actual size 256x384.
This is my sample texture.

Go to your texture menu and select load to upload your cushion texture into preview screen.

"Here you can preview how your texture will look on a sculpty.
Save sculpted map as PNG or TGA file and cushion texture as PNG or JPEG file and upload both files into second life.

 

Be sure to check lossless compression when uploading both of your textures.
When saving your sculpted map in rokuro pro, you can choose in it's FILE>SETUP menu to make sculpty transparent to avoid theft in second life. If you do that your sculpty will be transparent and look like the image below.

Make an object and in it's edit menu > object tab choose SCULPT from the dropdown menu. Choose your sculpted map to make a cushion form. Then go to your texture tab menu and select your cushion texture. Adjust it's size to your preferences. ^-^

http://rokuro.slmame.com/c27129.html

translated by Dendre Benelli.